Composing-stick for printers



NTTED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM T. TILLINGHAST, OF DAYTON, OHIO.

COMPOSING-STICK FOR PRINTERS.

Specification of Letters Patent No. 16,500, dated January 27, 1857.

T o all whom 'it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM T. TILLING- HAsT, of the city of Dayton andcounty of Montgomery and State of Ohio, have in vented new Improvementsin the Composing-Stick now Used by Printers in Setting Type; and I dohereby declare that the following is a full and exact descriptionthereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawing and to theletters of reference marked thereon.

The material used in making `the stick may be of wood or metal. Theimprovement dispenses with the use of the screw used in the old stick asa fastening to hold the slide to its position. A

Figure l in the drawing represents the composing stick, as perfect andready for use. `Fig. 2 represents the narrow back, or the right side ofthe stick through which a slit or cut L, L is made and the two bars, orcross pieces K, K, made fast to the slide B, which works in the slit L,L. The bars are fastened to the slide by screws passing through the slitor cut, holding the slide firmly and securely to the back of the stickthe bars K, K, passing across the narrow back of the stick A, A.

For the purpose of adjusting the measure the slide B, is made hollow anda spring inserted as shown in Fig. 3, which works on a pin, or pivot, P,fastened in the center of said spring and attached to the back of theslide, on the lower side of the slit, or cut (Fig. 2) small circularholes are drilled one em, or the square of any particular sized typedistant from each other.

To one end of the spring in the slide, B, is attached a small round pin,D, which drops into the circular holes before mentioned; to the otherend of the spring is attached a small thumb piece, O, which projectsthrough the front part of the slide and by a slight pressure of thethumb upon which thumb piece the small pin is thrown out of the hole inwhich it may be, thus al lowing the slide to be adjusted to anyparticular number of ems desired, when the pressure on the thumb pieceis discontinued and the small pin on the other end of the spring dropsinto one of the circular holes aforementioned and holds the slide to themeasure desired. On the upper edge of the back plate of the stick is astandard mark; and on the slide a scale is laid off in meas urecorresponding with the holes in the back of the stick and numbered fromone up; so that in adjusting the measure to any desired number of emsall the compositor has to do is to press his thumb on the thumb pieceand casting his eye on the scale he can instantly fit his slide to anynumber of ems he may desire.

The spring is shown separately with the pin and thumb piece attached inFig. t.

I claim as my invention the combination of the aforesaid severaldevices, and their application in forming the composing stick.

1WILLIAM T. TILLINGIIAST.

Witnesses:

Y. V. VooD, D. P. NEUD.

